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A former British soldier has told an inquest into the death of a Londonderry man that the weapons used by the Army to fire rubber bullets in the 1970s were "completely inaccurate".

Thomas Friel, who was 21, died four days after he was injured during rioting in Creggan in May 1973.

This is the third time a coroner has examined his death.

A third inquest into his death opened on Monday morning. The initial inquest in 1974 returned an open verdict.

In 2021 a coroner ruled that Mr Friel was most likely injured by a missile causing him to fall and suffer further injury, but that verdict was quashed by the High Court last year.

On Monday three former soldiers who were on patrol on the night of Mr Friel's death gave evidence to the inquest at Bishop Street courthouse.

One witness, identified as Soldier B, said he was on patrol when they came under attack from a group of youths.

He said he saw a man falling to the ground and being dragged away by a group of youths after he fired a baton round.

When asked what caused the man to fall, Solider B said he did not know.

Another witness, identified as Solider C, told the inquest he had never witnessed baton rounds being fired at the ground in order to bounce up and hit people.

He said that regulations stipulated that baton rounds be fired at the "body mass" of a person.

He then added that the weapons they would have used were "completely inaccurate".

The inquest, which is scheduled to last for about four days, continues.